Gun Owners of America: The 2012 elections have now entered the homestretch. The candidate debates are ramping up, and politicians all over the country are blanketing the airwaves with lies about their legislative records. It’s not a new problem. Remember the now-infamous quote from presidential hopeful Kerry about the Iraq War: “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” Rarely has a politician exposed himself more shamefully than the Massachusetts Democrat did back in 2003. Of course, everyone knows that most politicians do what Kerry did -- they are just a lot better in disguising their duplicity.

Consider a recent letter from Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri to a GOA activist who is a constituent in her state. Asked whether she would support this pro-gun legislation to allow gun owners to carry their guns across the country, McCaskill said:

“I strongly support legal and safe gun ownership by law-abiding citizens and have consistently voted to uphold this constitutional right. For example, in the 111th Congress, I voted to … require the National Park Service to honor state gun laws when gun owners enter National Parks in their states.”

Did this Senator -- who is F-rated by GOA -- really vote to repeal the National Parks gun ban? Hardly. You see, this is where McCaskill pulls a “John Kerry,” essentially saying: “I supported gun rights before I opposed them.”

When the repeal of this gun ban came before her, McCaskill opposed it -- voting against a stand-alone amendment to repeal the National Parks gun ban which was added to a credit card “reform” bill. (Senate Roll Call #188, May 12, 2009.)

Later on, she supported the underlying credit card bill so, presumably, Sen. McCaskill must think this allows her to say she helped repeal the National Parks gun ban -- even though she voted against it when it was a stand-alone amendment.

In other words, she supported the National Parks gun ban before she “opposed” it.

Considering politicians’ tendency to obfuscate, how is a gun owner to know where his member of Congress really stands on the Second Amendment? To be honest, it’s a full-time job tracking down the voting records of all the candidates.

And this is why Gun Owners of America surveys all the candidates for Congress. It’s why we rate Congressmen, not on what they say, but on how they vote. It’s why we try to put a Candidate Rating into as many gun owners’ hands as we can prior to the election.

Print out your state. Copy it. Distribute it around.Email it to all your pro-gun family and friends.

GOA is committed to helping millions of gun owners around the country make informed choices when they go to the polls this fall. Because when it comes to our Second Amendment rights, you can’t just go on what the politicians are telling you!

Upcoming guests include: Cody Wilson, the University of Texas student who was going to use a 3-D printer to create a gun, will appear on GOA Radio Live this coming Tuesday, October 9, to discuss his upcoming plans now that the company which had leased him the 3-D printer reclaimed it unexpectedly over concerns that it would be used for “illegal purposes.” Gary Kleck, criminologist and author of the groundbreaking study on self-defense with guns, will be discussing new gun-related research that he’s been conducting. Tune in on Thursday, October 11 to hear him.